Jack McCaffery is the lead sports columnist for the Daily Times and delcotimes.com. He has spent several decades covering everything from the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers, to college hoops, to high school sports in Delco.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

SPORTS NOTES, COME AND GET 'EM

There have been extra-inning games, upsets, various styles of play.

There have been teams from big markets and small.

There has been good pitching, clutch hitting, strategy, upsets and rallies.

And there have been lousy TV ratings for the most riveting postseason, round for round, in recent baseball history.

There is too much sports competition on TV. There are too many pitching changes, hitters climbing out of batter's boxes, throws to first base to hold runners, long counts. A sport that begins in March should be over before late October.

But the worst impediment to good ratings is that the baseball postseason is less organized than a rec-center league. With its play-in rounds, multi-initial intermediate-round tongue twisters (is this the ALDS or is it the NLCS?), various series lengths (best-of-one, best-of-five, best-of-seven), baseball gives its fans too much brain-work just to figure out who is playing where, when and why.

Beyond that, the pre-World Series rounds are televised by every network but Comedy Central. Then, after the World Series teams are settled, baseball waits around for a formally scheduled Game 1, losing any momentum of their league-championship series.

People crave clarity in their postseasons. Baseball should have three best-of-five series in each league, oddly enough labeled --- wait for it --- “first round”, “second round” and “third round.” Minimize the air-quote travel days. There should be one network responsible for televising each league's tournament.

The World Series, which must remain at best-of-seven, should return to its former format, with the home-field advantage alternating between the American and National League each year. Flood the market with brackets, encouraging office pools.

Make it fun, not a job to watch a game.

o

And how about your Hans and your Franz making a comeback? Dreams do come true.

o

Twice in this high school football season --- once in New Jersey, once in Pennsylvania --- a program has been shut down when it was found that unacceptable hazing of players had gone insufficiently policed.

Talk about jumping offside …

Fire the coach, if guilty. Sandblast the coaching staff. Change athletic director. Question the principal. By all means, run the hazers off the team --- and if some of their reported misdeeds are true, have them arrested. Punish the guilty. But don't punish everyone else.

To discontinue a football program because of the infiltration of thugs is to let the thugs win. Why should the band be denied an audience? Why should the cheerleaders have to pack away the megaphones for the season? Why should the opposing teams be left without opponents? Why should the people who may make a buck on high school football --- security guards, media sorts, referees, trainers, doctors, scoreboard operators, nearby pizza-joint owners, cops on OT--- be hit financially? Why should the fans be made to find something else to do?

There is always another qualified coach. There should be enough capable non-guilty players. Put them out there. Let them compete.

Bullies like to ruin things for others. In those two cases, they did.

o

Should I get a tattoo on the left side of my neck or the right side?

o

Notre Dame lost a football game to Florida State last weekend when an apparent eleventh-hour touchdown reception was overturned. Said the refs, the Fighting Irish had used an illegal pick play in order to free their receiver to catch the pass.

Good for the officials.

Good for two reasons.

One, they did not retreat into the sick “let the players decide the game” excuse to not throw a flag so late in the game. If it is a penalty during the first minute of the game, it's one in the last one, too.

Two, the play appeared to be sneaky and deliberate, the kind that too many college football and basketball teams try (and in some places are taught) in an effort to deceive the officials.

The penalty was correct. The proper team won the game --- a game not decided by the officials at all.

o

Get Duck Dynasty?

o

As the Union was finishing up its fourth non-playoff season in its five-year existence, CEO Nick Sakiewicz insisted that he did not hire one player, not one, not a striker, not a midfielder, not a goalie. That, he said, was the job of the personnel department and, by extension, the manager, Jim Curtin.

His claim was not universally saluted, just put it that way.

But just like when the Flyers make their bi-annual coaching change and Ed Snider insists that it was all the general manager's call, it would be interesting to do some forensic science on the Union's roster building and see how many of the CEO's fingerprints would be revealed under a black light.

Even Sakiewicz acknowledges some ultimate responsibility for every personnel move.

“Well,” he said, “I didn't veto any.”

n The Sixers will play their home opener Saturday night against Miami. They'll probably lose. But for one reason, the games should be more enjoyable this season: The new lighting that Josh Harris helped finance for the Wells Fargo Center. On display in the preseason, they brightened the court and darkened the seating areas, allowing for more of a grand-stage effect. Together they light.

o

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp ruled this week that major sports leagues, including the NFL, would suffer permanent harm if Monmouth Park were to accept legal sports bets.

Yep, let some guys from Jersey to go into a legalized gambling hall and bet on a football game and that would be it for pro football in this nation. It would die. It probably wouldn't even make it until the Monday night game, that's how damaging it would be. They'd have to turn the Jets-Giants stadium into a used-car lot. The Linc would become a high-school lacrosse super-site.

Whew. That was close. The last thing the world needs is gambling at Monmouth Park.

Berube chat before Flyers-Ducks game

“”No. Like I said, 'We'll see tomorrow.' I haven't seen him today or anything.”

You have had 3 guys get hurt in the middle of the game and yet finished the game? How?

“I don't know. They feel like they can finish the game, so they do. I don't know.”

Do they say they can continue?

“To be honest, I didn't know any of them were bothered or anything. None of them.”

How does Bellemare compare with Lecavailier, skill wise, body type, position wise?

“I think he'll be fine. He has real good speed. I think it should be a good line. With his speed in the middle of the ice, and with Simmonds and Schenn, it's a powerful line --- a good skating line, in my opinion. So I don't see any problem there.”

That line had been going well …

“Yeah, they had been.”

What do you like about Bellemare, and has he Bellemare adjusted to the league quickly?

“His speed and his smarts. He's a very smart player. He knows how to play the game. For a guy coming over here from over there, he adapted pretty quickly. He's good on faceoffs. He kills penalties. He does a lot of good things for us.”

What did you know about him before the Flyers signed him?

“Nothing. I knew he was a good skater. That was it.”

Had you ever seen him play?

“No. I watched tape on him. And our coaches watched tape of the world championship.”

Are you committed to Umberger-Read switch for the whole game?

“Well, we'll see. I don't see it being an issue. Both of them played either side before. So I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference, to be honest with you. Read is going to be able to the ice a little better --- a pretty good playmaker. So it might help from an offensive standpoint.”

Do you like it when players are pro-active that way?

“Yeah. I've got no problem with it. I like their input. I like to know what they are thinking. And I think it's good. I think they should be able to come to me at any time with whatever they need to talk to me about.”

Was there anything that you left the preseason concerned about, and that has come to fruition here, and if so, how do you correct it?

“I don't think so. I think, in our preseason, I said, 'The schedule is tough.' We couldn't get some of the lineups we wanted to get in. But overall, besides (Claude) Giroux, who never got much time, I think everybody got their time and what they needed. I look at these first three games and we could come out of there with points. We are making some mental mistakes at times, where we can't, and start cleaning that part of it up.”

Do you feel you are a much better team at this point than when you took over --- at this point last year?

“Yes, I do. Like I said, we could be sitting here not talking about this, but we are. So we deal with it, the adversity, like everything else, and we go forward. We'll go out tonight and see what happens.”

Flyers not hitting 'panic button'

PHILADELPHIA >> For
the second time in two seasons, the Flyers are 0-and-2.

The last time, they went
0-and-3 and …

“There was a feel of huge
panic here,” Claude Giroux said Saturday, after a morning skate at the Wells
Fargo Center. “Guys were trying to figure out what was going on. And after
three games, our coach got fired. So that was a big panic button.”

The Flyers will play the 2-0
Montreal Canadiens Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Craig Berube said
he would not change the lines that finished the Flyers' 6-4 loss Thursday
against visiting New Jersey. Nor have the Flyers promoted any defensemen from
the Phantoms, even with Braydon Coburn still out with a lower-body injury.

One change: Ray Emery will
be in goal, replacing Steve Mason, who played the first two games. Thursday,
Mason allowed five goals on 25 shots.

“It's the third game in four
days,” Berube said. “It's his (Emery's) turn. He is sharp and is ready to go.”

The Flyers remain relatively
unconcerned about their 0-2 straits.

“First and foremost, we are
playing an intense brand of hockey,” said Wayne Simmonds, who scored twice
against the Devils. “We've been moving our feet and skating a lot. It's just
the little mistakes that have sealed our fate. If we can stay away from those,
we'll be OK.”

Berube confident that Mason can handle workload

Craig Berube met with the press prior to the Flyers’ home
opener Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.

The conversation:

Were you tempted to rest Mason tonight, or are you confident
he can handle the back-to-back workload?

“He can handle it. He proved it last year. Second half of
the year, he was playing a lot of back-to-back.”

How did he play last night?

I thought he played well. I thought he looked sharp in net.
I thought he was getting out of his net with the puck. And he was involved in
the game.”

How did Lecavalier’s line play?

“They had some good O-zone time. I think that they killed some
of their O-zone time with ‘just hope’ plays and not keeping the puck a little
longer. I’d like to see them keep the puck a little bit longer and hang onto it
a little bit longer rather than trying plays that are ‘hope’ plays. I’d rather them
keep the puck a little bit longer, and move and protect it. They are a big
line. They should be able to do that.”

Any line or defensive changes tonight?

“You’ll see when the game starts, right?”

How did Del Zotto play?

“He got better as the game went along. He was competitive
last night. I thought he checked well, actually. I think he was just average
with the puck. But I thought he checked well. I thought he was competitive
defensively. With the puck he could be better.”

Any thought on the Chris Pronger situation, and how it could
affect your cap?

“I’m not worried about that. Whatever he does, he does.
There is nothing I can do about it.”

But it could affect your cap?

“I’ll call him up tomorrow and tell him not to do that”

Does Del Zotto still jump into the play like he used to?

“That’s probably a confidence thing, for sure. I thought he
jumped up into the play in New York the first couple of years. When we played
against him a lot, I’d see him in the rush all the time. But that’s a fair
assessment, I think. It’s a confidence thing. But we’ll try to get him back to
where he is involved in that rush. That would be a big part of his game.”

Zac Rinaldo talked about discipline, but took two penalties.

“Zac can’t retaliate. He’s got to skate away. I thought he
had a good game. I thought he was physical. I thought he disrupted their team.
He’s an effective player, even though he got a couple penalties, whether
deserving or not. But he is trying to do the right thing.”

Any special home-opener memories as a player?

“Not really. No. I probably didn’t do a whole lot.”

Were Flyers outplayed last night or just out-shot?

“I’d say the shots --- and I looked at it today --- their ‘D’ had like seven more shots from
the point than us. I don’t think we got enough puck-shoot from the points. And our
forwards at times didn’t shoot the puck and they should have. I think the first
period, they had the zone time. They had the jump on us. But after that I
thought it was pretty even.”

Giroux only two shots?

“I thought on the power play they just didn’t execute plays.
They got a little bit cute at times, trying ‘hope’ plays instead of doing the
simple things, shooting pucks and just being a simple power-play unit. Just
overall, the whole game for me --- execution --- wasn’t great. But that’s where
you look at Boston’s execution, and it was much better than ours. I don’t think
they outplayed us. I don’t think they outworked us. I thought it was a physical
game. If anything, I thought we were more physical than they were. But the work
ethic was probably even, both ways. They executed with the puck better than we
did.”